And we got to bring Mom with us!
On our first stop to check things out, we discovered that we were just outside the 14 mile wide blast zone.
Then we crossed into the blast zone and it was amazing to see that vegetation still hasn't grown back in some places, 31 years later...
So strange to see a mountain without a peak...
...and this was the "good side" of St. Helen's!
We drove on and stopped at Forest Learning Center to get another view of the mountain.
We drove a little further to get to the Johnston Observatory. It's named for volcanologist David Johnston who was camping on this ridge observing the volcano when it blew. His famous last words were "Vancouver, Vancouver, this is it!"
We went inside to watch the eruption film. After it ended, the curtains were raised and we had this incredible view!
Then we went out onto the observation deck to take a few more pictures and try to comprehend what happened in 1980.
The Lava Dome
We had a nice picture all framed out until the gentleman whose right hand you will find in the left corner decided to join us, oh well.
So after we got all the pictures we wanted, we set out for a stroll on Eruption Trail.
One of the first things we came to was this memorial to the 57 people who lost their lives in the eruption.
So sad...
We continued down eruption trail and just enjoyed the view.
It eventually erupted us into the parking lot and we headed on our way home.
We decided to stop at this little restaurant just outside of Mt. St. Helen's because it had a sign that said "Homemade Cobblers" - I'm pretty sure you would stop, too. =)
And boy were they yummy!!
I had strawberry rhubarb and Derek had blueberry apple. We'll definitely be stopping by this restaurant every time we go visit St. Helen's.
And just look at the river view we had!
So pretty! What a lovely way to end our most fun-filled day of mountain adventure!
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